Emergencies and Indoor Air Quality Resources to Keep Businesses and Institutions Open

This year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a new Emergencies and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) website to provide the public with information about how to protect themselves and their IAQ before, during, and after emergencies. The agency suggests that preparation and response to weather-related and man-made emergencies is particularly important when it comes to indoor environments, since humans spend most of their time indoors, and rely on indoor spaces for shelter.

Specific areas of focus listed include wildfires, floods, power outages, extreme heat, and winter weather. Regarding wildfires, EPA warns that smoke from wildfires can make its way inside, making the air indoors unhealthy to breathe. The agency also shares the fact that floodwaters can make the air indoors unhealthy. This is because when things remain wet for more than 24-48 hours, they usually get moldy. Floodwaters can even carry biological and chemical contaminants indoors, which may affect people’s health.

Power outages that last longer than a few hours can also adversely impact indoor air quality. EPA encourages actions to prevent the buildup of harmful indoor pollutants during an outage, including deadly carbon monoxide from generators or other sources. EPA also cautions that when indoor temperatures rise, people can suffer from potentially deadly illnesses, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Likewise with winter weather, the agency reports that winter storms and cold temperatures can create potentially dangerous conditions that impact the indoor air quality.

“It is vital for businesses and institutions to be prepared for possible emergencies and to have action plans in place,” said Frank Selamie, President of CTSI. “This includes having access to the right resources and professionals. At CTSI, our indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, building science, and infection control experts are experienced with handling biological, chemical, and physical exposure risks. We can inspect, test, monitor, and develop solutions for a wide range of environmental, health, and safety issues associated with emergency situations. CTSI also offers comprehensive facility-wide safety and health audits, regulatory compliance assessments and management training, personal protective equipment and safety training, and other resources.”

CTSI recently sponsored an educational video about emergencies and IAQ that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/8-1AGD52_fk

To learn more about CTSI’s indoor air quality, industrial hygiene, infection control, environmental, health, and safety services, please visit www.ctsiweb.com, email contactus@ctsiweb.com, or call (212) 971-7016.

About CTSI
Established in 1992, Consulting & Testing Services, Inc. (CTSI) was founded on one strong commitment: to provide efficient and expert services to clients based on professionalism, innovation, and cost-effective expert solutions. This commitment has been furthered with CTSI’s reputation in fostering client relationships in all sectors of the Environmental, Health, Safety, and Construction industries. CTSI prides itself in utilizing a high quality service based on its diverse team of staff and professionals’ concise recommendations and solutions to the most pressing dilemmas. The company operates offices in New York and Florida that service clients across the United States.

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Paul Cochrane

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